{"id":2783,"date":"2014-07-17T23:19:05","date_gmt":"2014-07-18T06:19:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.mechadigital.net\/?p=2783"},"modified":"2021-08-26T20:37:56","modified_gmt":"2021-08-26T20:37:56","slug":"100-abdul-fell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/100-abdul-fell\/","title":{"rendered":"#108 “Abdul fell out!”"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was browsing through my old skydiving logbook the other day.\u00a0 Funny how entries in old journals and logs will cause us to remember long-forgotten incidents.\u00a0 Insert harp riff right here\u2026 It was November of 1978.\u00a0 At the time I was actively skydiving.\u00a0 Joe Blank and I were delivering an old Piper Colt to the nearby airport at Angwin and had decided that we\u2019d stop at Pope Valley, California to get a couple of jumps in before returning to Medford.\u00a0 When I got there, we found that the United Arab Emirates Skydiving Team was practicing there.\u00a0 One of Pope Valley\u2019s regulars, a guy named Norton, was assigned as their coach.\u00a0 I got the impression that the team was made up of enlisted men from the Arab armed forces, with an officer or NCO as their team leader.\u00a0 Norton said we could hop in the Twin Beech with him and the team.\u00a0 I never knew Norton well, but he was a great character.\u00a0 He was sort of a biker\/skydiver and was flamboyant and a bit crude, with a great sense of humor. There was a language barrier between \u201cCoach Norton\u201d and the Arabs, but Norton took his job seriously.\u00a0 In addition to skydiving technique, he took it upon himself to teach the Arab jumpers common English phrases as well.\u00a0 Unfortunately, Norton\u2019s \u201cphrase-book\u201d consisted entirely of foul retorts, most of which began, featured or ended with the ubiquitous \u201cF-word\u201d.\u00a0 I think the Arab jumpers may have understood that the phrases which they happily slung back and forth to each other were not exactly fit to be used in polite company, but they were keen students, parroting phrases like, \u201cHave a good jump, you f—–g dirtbag!\u201d\"nofrillsflight\"<\/a><\/h3>\n

A popular jump plane, the Beech 18 could carry a lot of skydivers… either inside or out.<\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n

We all climbed aboard the aging Beech 18 and took off on Pope Valley\u2019s cracked and undulating runway.\u00a0 It was a return for me.\u00a0 A few years before, my brother and our small crew had gathered there for several weeks to shoot the film, \u201cDawn Flight\u201d.\u00a0 It was the story of a glider pilot. With the help of a superb actor, Denis Arndt, we\u2019d managed to pull off a classic short subject which actually got us an Academy Award Nomination.<\/h3>\n

The plane had no door.\u00a0 The gaping doorway in its side toward the back of the plane was a source of lots of noise and a rush of cold, thin air as the plane climbed.<\/h3>\n

The Napa County countryside grew smaller below us as the old Twin Beech climbed to twelve thousand feet.\u00a0 In the back, the boys were up to something with the encouragement of Norton.\u00a0 Several of the jumpers distracted the team leader.\u00a0 They called his attention to some landmark off in the distance and while he was occupied with looking at it, one of them disappeared into the small bathroom located behind the rear bulkhead of the plane.<\/h3>\n

Then the team began to yell and feign shock and surprise. \u00a0Most of their yelled comments were in Arabic, but someone added, \u201cAbdul, he fall out!\u201d.\u00a0 Their exclamations were aimed at their team leader, who was the butt of their joke.\u00a0 Several of the jumpers gesticulated at the open door way and peered out and down as if to look for their comrade who had slipped and fallen out the door of the big plane.<\/h3>\n

The team leader was sucked into the gag.\u00a0 He angrily raced back to the door and leaned out to see if he could spot Abdul.\u00a0 Behind his back the rest of the team were giggling with delight.<\/h3>\n

It was decided that the jump would continue with only the remainder of the team.\u00a0 The old bird turned on jump run and Norton leaned out the door spotting the jump.\u00a0 At his command, the engines were brought back to minimize prop wash and the \u201cfloaters\u201d took their positions hanging out the doorway.\u00a0 The quick countdown was chanted.\u00a0 \u201cThree, Two, One, GO!\u201d, the jumpers screamed and then tumbled out.\u00a0 As they fell away from the plane, Abdul, who was probably the most expert \u201crelative worker\u201d on the team, came bursting out of the can and leaped out the door.<\/h3>\n

Joe and I followed.\u00a0 We\u2019d try for a canopy hookup. \u00a0I won\u2019t embarrass either of us by reporting how THAT went!\u00a0 \u00a0I found out after landing how the gag went:\u00a0 The members of the team joined, their hands grasped jumpsuit sleeves and they formed the basic circular formation, with all of the jumpers whistling toward earth in a circle.\u00a0 Then Abdul came swooping in.\u00a0 He joined on the star directly across from the team leader, who now realized that he\u2019d been had.\u00a0 Abdul grinned\u00a0 and probably mouthed, \u201cI fooled you, you f—–g dirtbag!\u201d<\/h3>\n

At about three thousand feet, everyone tracked off to clear air and all of their canopies bloomed open.\u00a0 The scene on the ground was hilarious as they all traded American obscenities and laughed loudly.\u00a0 Abdul and the team leader embraced and smiled at each other.\u00a0 Evidently there were no hard feelings.<\/h3>\n

Joe and I made some more jumps before heading back to our home drop zone at Beagle Sky Ranch.\u00a0 I\u2019d remember some jumps a lot more than others.\u00a0 The day that Abdul fell out of the airplane will always be one of them.\"Twin<\/a><\/h3>\n

The Twin Beech at Beagle Sky Ranch used every bit of the dirt runway.<\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n

How did this story get on the Tailwheeler\u2019s Journal?\u00a0 The Beech 18 is a taildragger.<\/h3>\n

And, speaking of skydiving,<\/h3>\n

Happy Swooping!<\/h3>\n

Brian<\/i><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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